Table Talk (by Amanda)
// October 18th, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Family
I don’t like saying this, but the awful truth is, I often hate dinner time. It’s not that my boys are picky eaters – I mean, they have their likes and dislikes (whereas I, on the other hand will eat anything in sight – - except for ketchup…NEVER ketchup) but they’ll usually try just about anything, for which I am grateful. We have a couple of problems, though. My oldest son spends most of his time acting crazy and trying to “entertain us”, crossing over quickly into “annoying us” territory, and strongly distracts his little brother from eating and leads him to mimic the crazy/annoying behavior. And my little one, aside from doing most of the things his brother does, eats about one bite every 8 minutes. It’s like he forgets to chew! It drives me insane! I know the rule about kids will eat when they’re hungry, but I want them to eat at mealtimes! When I clean up the kitchen after dinner, I want to check that box off for the day. Kitchen – Done! I don’t want to go back in later to make something else and clean up again. I don’t give them a lot of snacks and there’s never anything between lunch and dinner – except for some playtime and a nap. We’ve yelled and set a timer and taken the food away and fed them ourselves and anything else we’ve heard from friends in similar situations. Nothing seemed to work…until now!
We’ve developed a new “game” called, as Bo Chuck decided, Table Talk. We have a two-minute hourglass that the boys got at a dentist appointment. It’s supposed to tell them when they’re done brushing, but to be honest, we don’t use it. Not for that, anyway. Its new place is at the kitchen table. When we all sit down to eat, we flip the timer over, and each person takes a turn telling about his or her day till the timer runs out. (I know this doesn’t sound like a long time, but it can really put you on the spot!) During your two minutes to talk, no one else gets to talk. They just eat. So, for the first 6 out of 8 minutes, you’re quiet and doing nothing but eating. I’m not sure why this works for our boys, but it does. And, it gives me a chance to hear a little about my husband’s work day, since I’m typically terrible about asking. I like hearing what the boys have to say, too. It’s funny how nervous they seem to get when it’s their time. After each person goes, we can ask him/her questions about things they’ve said. Once we’ve all had our turn, we ask random questions. We’ve even written out some questions and dialogue-starters – and discussing what would be on the “table talk cards” was one night’s discussion. We now have a glass bowl that stays on the kitchen table with various questions and conversation starters: “What’s your favorite …”, “Would you rather…”, basic personal information (birthday, what’s your address/phone number, where were you born, what’s your full name, etc”), basic Bible questions and memory verses, inkblot tests (what does this look like to you), and other pre-K-level questions (seasons, days of the week, count to…, and such.) Tonight was the grandparents’ night to come for dinner, and we got to play with them, too. Super D was a bit keyed up, but overall, Table Talk was a big success, even with the adults.
And, for the past week, when we sat down for dinner, there’s been no yelling, no feeding children that are fully capable of feeding themselves, and some surprisingly clean plates at the end of the meal. And, I feel a little better getting to hear about my kids’ and husband’s days. Even though I’m with the boys most all day long, their perspective of the day’s events can be quite different from mine! And when fall break is over and they’re back to school, I’ll hopefully get a glimpse into their school day – the time of which I don’t get to be a part!
and 
, but he’s never really shown huge interest in the markers. I mean, he likes them, and he draws a little, but then he’s on to his eleventy thousand other toys. (The Dropz, on the other hand, we use almost every time, which explains the orangish-tan color of the tub water in the pictures to follow.) When I saw the idea for Shaving Cream Bath Tub Paint, I wasn’t sure it would be a huge hit. Still, it was an easy enough project that I thought we’d give it a try.
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